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European stocks posted losses Monday as a worsening crisis in Ukraine and an unexpected interest rate hike from the Russian central bank stoked investor fears around the world. As Russian indices like the RTS Index and companies like Yandex suffer, investor unease also extended to stateside markets, where the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 all opened Monday trading well into the red.

Despite better-than-expected economic data out of the western parts of Europe -- including a French purchasing managers index (PMI) of 49.7, a five-month high --Russia and Ukraine naturally garnered the most attention on the first trading day since Russian forces established their presence in Ukraine's Crimea peninsula and Ukrainian forces mobilized in response. Russia's RTS Index took the biggest hit of all, posting a more-than 161-point loss, or 12.65% decline. Contributing to the decline in the Russian index was a sharp devaluation of the ruble, which plunged to all-time lows that saw a 37-to-1 exchange rate against the U.S. dollar and a 50-to-1 exchange rate against the Euro.

As a result of this devaluation, the Russian central bank hiked its interest rate from 5.5% to 7%, "The decision is aimed at preventing the risks for inflation and financial stability arising from the recent increase in financial market volatility," the Bank of Russia said in a (translated) statement on its website.

Among Russian stocks suffering the most are search engine operator Yandex and Russian telecomm companies and Mobile Telesystems. Yandex, which operates the largest search engine in Russia, enjoys a 60% market share and IPO'ed in 2011 to much fanfare (and a 55% return on day 1), is down 14.2% for the day, while VimpelCom is down 7.2% and Mobile Telesystems is down 9.87%.

Elsewhere in Europe, London's FTSE Index is set for its largest daily fall since June; the index is currently down 109 points, or 1.6%. Germany's Dax Index fell 271 points, or 2.8%; France's CAC Index fell 96.7 points, or 2.2%, while the Amsterdam AEX Index fell 9.33 points, or 2.34%.

The selloff extended across the Atlantic, leading the Dow to open more than 100 points down, at 16,192.53. Every Dow component except Chevron is trading for a loss Monday morning, and the index's lone gainer is a small gainer at that: Chevron is currently up just 0.54%. The S&P opened to an over 10-point decline at 1,848.41 and the Nasdaq opened 32.6 points lower at 4,275.10.

To those who still see gold as a safe-haven investment, it should come as no surprise that as U.S. equities sank, the precious metal rose: Gold futures are currently trading for a 26-point, or 2% gain. Futures of the commodity are currently selling around $1,350 an ounce, gold's highest price since October. Futures of oil, natural gas and silver were also doing well in early Monday trading, with all three commodities enjoying upticks between 0.6% and 1.85%.

Despite the worsening situation in Ukraine, some market insiders predict that investor unease over the situation in eastern Europe will lessen as those investors come to classify the standoff over the Crimea peninsula as a "local issue" between Russia and Ukraine. Bill Stone, chief investment strategist for PNC Asset Management, noted that the focus on Ukraine will likely continue for the next week, but "more as a function of geopolitical worries since it sits in the heart of central Europe rather than its economic weight, as Ukraine accounts for a scant 0.26% of global GDP."

Added Nigel Green, founder and CEO of deVere Group,"There has been some volatility in the capital markets as a result of the political and military uncertainty in Ukraine - which have, naturally, exacerbated concerns about the country’s fundamental economic weaknesses. However, I fully expect this to be a short-term phenomenon," Green said in emailed comments Monday morning. “Global financial markets will then return to focusing on key fundamentals, such as the improving trend of US economic data, than to what is happening in Ukraine.”